Youth Sports

Mariner hockey went up against the Soldotna Stars in the first game of the North Star Conference hockey tournament on Feb. 4 at Sport Center in Soldotna. The game was close in the first and second periods, but ended with a 3-2 loss for Homer.

The Homer girls took the round-robin Seahawk Classic in Seward with a 3-0 record over the weekend in the round robin tournament. The Homer boys held a 1-2 record at the tournament, thanks to a close win against Glennallen.

Mariner hockey went up against the Soldotna Stars in the first game of the North Star Conference hockey tournament on Feb. 4 at Sport Center in Soldotna. The game was close in the first and second periods, but ended with a 3-2 loss for Homer.

Lauren Kuhns swims the breaststroke in one of the six races where she represented the Kachemak Swim Club at the Alaska Senior Championships on Jan. 30-31 at Bartlett Pool in Anchorage. A total of 147 swimmers attended the meet.

Kuhns placed 14th individually overall and finaled in all of her events. Kuhns’ times were all personal bests in the preliminary and final swims:

Both the girls and boys teams will travel back to Seward for a tournament, starting today when they face Glennallen at 3 and 4:30 p.m. The Friday game will see both teams play Seward again at 6 and 7:30 p.m., and then the weekend finishes on Feb. 6 with games against Valdez at 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

The Mariner hockey team crushed the competition on Thursday, Jan. 28, at the last home game of the season, shutting down Kenai Central High 7-2.

Following the win, the Mariners will play in regions at the Sport Center in Soldotna beginning today. They play Soldotna High School at 4 p.m. If the Mariners defeat the Stars, they will match up against Palmer on Friday at 7:30 p.m. A win against Palmer then would mean facing off against either Kenai, Wasilla or Colony at the championship game at 4:15 p.m. Saturday.

The Wolverines settled for a split Tuesday evening at home against the Warriors in Peninsula Conference action.

The Ninilchik boys toppled Nikolaevsk 64-54, sending the Warriors to their first conference loss of the season. Ninilchik exploded out of the gates with 28 points, led by 13 from Austin White, en route to a 35-30 lead at halftime. White ended the night with 17 points (all in the first half), while teammate Dalton Geppert notched a game-high 19. Jonah Fefelov led Nikolaevsk with 16 points.

The Mariners came out 1-1 in a two-game series against Bartlett last weekend. Friday’s game saw a 4-3 overtime Mariner victory, which was the second game won in a row that week by the hockey team. However, luck turned on Saturday, and Bartlett defeated the Mariners with a score of 5-3.

Though Bartlett started out with the advantage in points on Friday, the Mariners rallied and took back their home turf at the end of the game.

Though the girls varsity basketball game on Friday, Jan. 22, started off with Nikiski points, it ended with a Mariner victory. However the boys fell to their opponents, despite a strong first quarter.

Girls: Mariners 43, Bulldogs 33

The girls team finished off Nikiski with a final score of 43-33, a satisfying victory for the team. The Mariners won against Nikiski at the Nikiski Tip-Off Tournament a week ago, and the pressure was on to get a home court win.

Homer’s Nordic ski team raced in Wasilla’s Rally in the Valley race at Government Peak on Jan. 15 and 16, where the temperatures in the high-teens to mid-20s and sunny skies made for ideal conditions on the trails.

The girls placed well in their classes, with senior Rachel Ellert taking seventh place among the varsity girls and junior varsity skier Katie Davis taking home a first place ribbon. Davis came in first, approximately a minute or more ahead of the second place skier, in both her races.

Kevin Bell Arena filled up with 83 women from Healy, Anchorage, Kenai, Homer, Wasilla and Soldotna, ready to play hockey. This year’s winter jamboree tournament theme, Villains and Heroes, saw team names such as “Wrap-A-Round Witches” while players warmed up in superhero capes.

Mariners hockey travelled to play Chugiak and Eagle River in non-conference games on Jan. 8 and 9. Though both games were losses, Coach John Carlin and the players agreed both games were growing experiences for the team.

“We got everybody off the beach because I wanted every kid to be hot and sweaty and the end of it,” Carlin said.

The Homer High School wrestling team closed the season with a banquet at the Best Western Bidarka Inn on Jan. 9, celebrating their players and the team’s state championship win. Head wrestling coach and athletic director Chris Perk congratulated his players on sticking to their team motto of “embrace the grind,” which he attributed to their success.